Thursday, November 21Sports. Travel. Events

Tag: Australia

Sydney Marathon confirmed as seventh Abbott World Marathon Major
Editor's Pick, Events

Sydney Marathon confirmed as seventh Abbott World Marathon Major

Abbott World Marathon Majors has confirmed that the TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS will join the series in 2025 to become the seventh event in the Abbott World Marathon Majors series. The TCS Sydney Marathon, which will take place on Sunday 31 August 2025, joins six races including the Tokyo Marathon, the Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America, the TCS London Marathon, the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the TCS New York City Marathon as part of the global marathon series. The Sydney Marathon is the largest marathon in Oceania and saw a record 20,272 finishers during its 2024 race, allowing it to pass its second consecutive assessment and become an Abbott World Marathon Major. Dawna Stone, CEO of AbbottWMM, said: “I am thrilled that Syd...

Tennis grand slam: 2025 Australian Open

The Australian Open, taking place from 6-26 January 2025 in Melbourne, is the first of the four grand slam tennis tournaments of the year. Played on hard courts at Melbourne Park, the tournament is known for its lively atmosphere, extreme summer temperatures, and innovative approach to sports entertainment.  Established in 1905, the Australian Open has grown into one of the most prestigious and widely watched events in tennis. It features five main competition categories: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Over the years, iconic players such as Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and Roger Federer have etched their names into history by capturing multiple titles in Melbourne.  Melbourne Park, the venue for the Australian Open, features wor...

Rugby union: British & Irish Lions tour of Australia 2025

After facing Argentina in a friendly match in Dublin, the British & Irish Lions will then travel to Australia for their 2025 tour. The Lions – a combined team of the best international rugby union players from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales – take on the Wallabies in three Test matches as well as playing six warm-up games against teams from around Australia. Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium will host the first of three Tests on Saturday 19 July 2025. The second Test will be played on Saturday 26 July 2025 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), and the final Test will be played at Sydney’s Accor Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday 2 August 2025. See more at lionsrugby.com  British & Irish Lions tour of Australia 2025 – fixtures  28 June 2025: Western...

Cricket: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Australia 2022

Australia will be the focus of the cricketing world when it hosts the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Taking place from 16 October to 13 November, the world’s best players from 16 teams will play 45 matches in what will be the biggest global sporting event to be hosted in Australia in 2022. Matches will be played in Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Brisbane (The Gabba), Geelong (Kardinia Park Stadium), Hobart (Bellerive Oval), Melbourne (MCG), Perth (Perth Stadium) and Sydney (SCG). Australia will go into the eighth edition of the men’s event as defending champions after winning their maiden ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title in 2021, defeating New Zealand in the final.  The opening fixture of the tournament will see Sri Lanka take on Namibia on Sunday 16 October at Kardinia Park in Geelong. The f...

2022 Aqua Rugby Festival

With “big hits” and even “bigger splashes”, Aqua Rugby has been described as Australia’s newest “sporting phenomenon”. Taking place at Manly Cove in Sydney, Australia from 10-12 November 2022, the three-day Aqua Rugby Festival will see matches played on a 30m x 30m floating pontoon pitch with tries scored by jumping into the ocean. Think of it as rugby’s full contact and fast pace combined with Olympic-style dives and NFL-inspired celebrations.    The teams, professional and amateur, feature five players plus reserves and games are played for ten minutes – five-minute halves with two minutes for half time. Over the weekend there will be men’s and women’s knockout competitions as well as a number of exhibition matches. Fans will be able to watch the matches from the Manly Shorelin...
Aqua Rugby Festival: a ‘sporting phenomenon’ in Sydney, Australia 
Events, Sports Travel

Aqua Rugby Festival: a ‘sporting phenomenon’ in Sydney, Australia 

With “big hits” and even “bigger splashes”, Aqua Rugby has been described as Australia’s newest “sporting phenomenon”. Taking place at Manly Cove in Sydney, Australia from 10-12 November 2022, the three-day Aqua Rugby Festival will see matches played on a 30m x 30m floating pontoon pitch with tries scored by jumping into the ocean. Think of it as rugby’s full contact and fast pace combined with Olympic-style dives and NFL-inspired celebrations.    The teams, professional and amateur, feature five players plus reserves and games are played for ten minutes – five-minute halves with two minutes for half time. Over the weekend there will be men’s and women’s knockout competitions as well as a number of exhibition matches. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_QNk0NRI2o Fans will be abl...
Sydney Marathon enters race to join Abbott World Marathon Majors 
Events, Sports Business, Sports Travel

Sydney Marathon enters race to join Abbott World Marathon Majors 

Sydney is on track to join the most high-profile marathon cities in the world, with the Blackmores Sydney Marathon officially announced as a candidate for the Abbott World Marathon Majors series – the first marathon in Oceania to be nominated. To become a major, the Sydney Marathon will be required to meet “strict criteria over a three-year period”, said worldmarathonmajors.com. If successful, it will join an esteemed group of races – Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, TCS London Marathon, BMW-Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and TCS New York City Marathon – as a new member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors in 2025. Stuart Ayres, the New South Wales minister for tourism and sport, said the candidacy acknowledges the Sydney Marathon as a world-class event with one o...
2026 Commonwealth Games to generate AU$3bn for Victoria’s economy
Events, Sports Business, Sports Travel

2026 Commonwealth Games to generate AU$3bn for Victoria’s economy

Victoria has been confirmed as the host destination for the 2026 Commonwealth Games – and it’s estimated that the major sporting event will generate more than AU$3billion to the economy in the Australian state.  Victoria 2026 will be held across multiple regions, creating a new multi-city model for the Commonwealth Games. Four regional hubs will be established in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland, each with its own athletes’ village and sports program. The hubs will also host athletes, officials and fans following an opening ceremony at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, using Melbourne as the gateway to regional Victoria. Shepparton, in northern Victoria, will also host sporting and cultural events as part of Victoria 2026. There will also be a strong para-sports programme...
Accor Stadium: hotel group wins naming rights for Sydney’s Stadium Australia
Sports Business, Sports Travel, Stadiums & Venues

Accor Stadium: hotel group wins naming rights for Sydney’s Stadium Australia

Hotel and hospitality group Accor has signed a seven-year naming rights deal for Stadium Australia – the iconic venue in Sydney’s Olympic Park.   Now named the Accor Stadium, it was the centrepiece of the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games and has a capacity of 100,000 spectators for concerts and more than 80,000 for seated sporting events. The stadium has previously hosted major sporting events such as rugby league’s State of Origin, National Rugby League Grand Finals, Fifa World Cup qualifiers, rugby union’s Bledisloe Cup, and British & Irish Lions rugby Test matches. Natalie Ward, minister for sport of the New South Wales (NSW) Government, said: “NSW is open for business and we are thrilled our local fans, along with interstate and international visitors, will be able t...
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: iconic surfing event cancelled for 2021 – will return in 2022
Events, Sports Business

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: iconic surfing event cancelled for 2021 – will return in 2022

World Surf League (WSL) has announced that the 2021 edition of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach has been cancelled for 2021 but will return in 2022 after a new three-year deal was agreed with partners Rip Curl and the Victorian Government in Australia.  The WSL was unable to secure a pre-approved bubble in Victoria ahead of the event, leaving significant risk attached to sudden public health measures in reaction to Covid-19 such as lockdowns, state border restrictions, and event cancellations. The WSL respects and understands the decision of the Victorian Government in this challenging time. Andrew Stark, WSL Asia Pacific general manager, said: “It was an extremely difficult decision to cancel one of the most iconic events on the Championship Tour.  “However, we are genuinely ex...
Australia wins right to host the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup
Events, Sports Business

Australia wins right to host the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup

Amid the cancellations and postponements of many major sporting events in 2020, there is some good news from the world of women’s basketball.  FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, has announced that Australia will host the Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2022.  Basketball Australia and the Russian Basketball Federation were the two candidate countries vying to host the flagship tournament. Following a video conference it was confirmed that Australia will host the event for a second time. The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup will be held for ten days in September and October 2022. A total of 38 matches featuring 12 international teams will be played in two venues in Sydney’s Olympic Park. Newsletter: sign up for updates from Sports Tourism Media What the officials said  Hamane Nian...
WSL Sydney Surf Pro in Manly to generate AUD$3.7m and 25,000 visitor nights
Sports Business, Sports Travel

WSL Sydney Surf Pro in Manly to generate AUD$3.7m and 25,000 visitor nights

Manly beach in Sydney, Australia, will host the World Surf League’s newest event – the Sydney Surf Pro – for the next three years. The NSW Government, through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, has secured the event exclusively for Sydney as part of the new global WSL Challenger Series. The WSL Sydney Surf Pro will include men’s and women’s events and is locked in for Manly from 2020 to 2022, with the first event to take place between 8-14 March next year.  James Griffin, member for Manly, said: “Manly staged the first-ever world championships in May 1964, and in March this year our iconic four-kilometre beach attracted 11-time world champion Kelly Slater to compete. “Where better to kick off the WSL Challenger Series than in the hub of surf culture that is Manly?”  ...
UK travel agents appointed for ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia
Holidays & Trips

UK travel agents appointed for ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia

Australia will host two International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 (T20) World Cups in 2020 with both the men’s and women’s tournaments taking place Down Under.  The women’s event is from 21 February to 8 March, followed by the men’s from 18 October to 15 November. ICC Travel & Tours has appointed 19 official travel agents to cater for fans from all over the world, who are now able to book their experience. Travel packages available through ICC Travel & Tours offer a wide range of ticket-inclusive packages.  Fans in the UK can buy T20 World Cup packages from three official travel companies: Gullivers Sports Travel, ST Sports and International Cricket Tours. Official travel packages include match tickets combined with travel services and/or accommodation. Nick Hockle...

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